80 Series Buyers guide

[gary_in_nz]

Hi everyone over in the toyota forum, i usually lurk in the nissan deparment but kind of thinking of jumping ship.

Im interested in an 80 series Land Cruiser, be a daily runner maybe a little bit of towing down the track and will hope to do Safari type easy runs with it.
I have driven a slightly modified Manual 80 series and it seemed to go well, im not worried about having an auto however as most of them seem to be.

If im going to go and check out an 80 series, what am I on the look out for (issue wise pretty much?

cheers!!

[mudlva]

24valve motor
Check for stress cracks around steering box
Check for wear on l.h.s hub with steering/tie rod link. Bolt become loose
Generally only on modded wagons with big off set wheels.
Otherwise awesome wagons

[gary_in_nz]

are the 24 valve motors that much better are they? on paper theres only about 4kw between them and 20 nm torque or so? Reading aussy forums and a bit on here with a few mods the 12 valves seem to get some good figures.
Just that the 24 valve models might be stretching the budget a bit being a bit newer.

[Jerry]

check under the battery some have a preheater solenoid which can fall apart and cause fires... there is another post on here somewhere

[mudlva]

are the 24 valve motors that much better are they? on paper theres only about 4kw between them and 20 nm torque or so? Reading aussy forums and a bit on here with a few mods the 12 valves seem to get some good figures.
Just that the 24 valve models might be stretching the budget a bit being a bit newer.

Ive found the 24v motor to be a lit more responcive and towed a lit better than the 12v.
That said ive also seen the 12v modified and they went like a cut cat.

Just havent a clue on how much that cost to get it to perform.

[BlakeNZ]

the reason he said 24valve instead of the the 12v, is that the 12valve are known to suffer early bottom end bearing failure. If the original factory bearings are replaced, the motor are then fine. There is a school of thought, that these machines are of an age now, that if the fault was going to show up, then it will have by now. Many have been replaced, either as a repair or as a pre emptive measure.
so no surprise the 12Valve ones are cheaper than 24valve ones. if you are concerned, have an oil analysis done. it will indicate bearing wear.
For a 20-25 year old truck, the list of common issues is remarkably short. certainly one of the most reliable and top build quality trucks out there.

[wjw]

Biggest issue seems to be maintenance as they are getting long in the tooth. Mine needed new Pot's in the calipers, oil seals on transfer case & front diff... to name a few

[gary_in_nz]

ok cheers guys for the feed back, they seem great wagons from the couple of people i know who have them. so will keep an eye out for any good deals that come up.

[hachi_roku]

check all windows go up and down ok... as this is another common fault.
go part time 4wd, so much better.. less wear and tear.

[gary_in_nz]

Rogger some trucks just get electrical gremlins. I have been looking into a few mods mostly reliablity ones, intercoolers, exhaust etc. I already have a swb safari club truck with the cool bits so with any luck the new 80 will be following in its footsteps.

[wjw]

check all windows go up and down ok... as this is another common fault.
go part time 4wd, so much better.. less wear and tear.

Forgot about that one, the rubbers stiffen over time, so may need replacing, the extra friction kills the motors eventually, new rubbers are an easy fix, replacement motors not so as they are quite expensive.

[gary_in_nz]

ok cheers for the heads up with the windows.

I got an auto 1993 one lined up for a test drive in the weekend, planing on going for spin up a steep hill, any thing i should be looking out for if it might have a dodgy trans or anything?

Out of insterest, what sort of lift do the 80 series need to fit 35x12.5 tyres?

[mudlva]

Kick down from 3rd to 2nd is very harsh and could well start to slip with foot hard up it.

On flat slow right down then nail it. Trans should easily move to 2nd then excelerate. If it jumps down then back to drive it shows sign of wear in t.c.

Get it in to o.d on a long straight and apply medium brake right up to full stop and see if t.c. is still locked up or gripping. It will fell like a rumbling bearing but the steering wheel dont wobble.

The trans are generally lazy so dont mistake a lazy trans as opposied to a worn trans.
The lazy units will still shift up and down smoothly. They just like to stay in the high gearing longer

[Lchundy]

I've read on here 35s fit with no lift but there's a few things to consider like wheel offset brand of tyres etc.
I found out that 35s rub at standard height and could smash off your flares when offroad.
so would recommend a 2 inch lift minimum

[gary_in_nz]

Ok cheers fellas for the input, will see how things go over the weekend if the price is right!

[gary_in_nz]

Bought one, right about the windows, ones dead and one is very slow. Found it was fairly rusty on the front inner guards right down the front where the panel bolts to the bottom radiator support by the look of things. Are they known for this? At a guess they look like they have some sound dampening material on the engine bay side inner guards that probably holds moisture ver well?

[wjw]

Bought one, right about the windows, ones dead and one is very slow. Found it was fairly rusty on the front inner guards right down the front where the panel bolts to the bottom radiator support by the look of things. Are they known for this? At a guess they look like they have some sound dampening material on the engine bay side inner guards that probably holds moisture ver well?

Until you get hold of new rubbers and motor, clean the rubbers with soapy water, wait for them to dry and then spray the inside channel with this:

http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/online- ... mendations

Hopefully that will stop you stuffing any of the other motors. I didn't do it straight away and the kids burnt one out.

From memory motors are different left side to right side, which side do you need?

Suzolla had some window rubbers ex Japan, not sure if he still does, but it would be worth while PMing him:

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=696

Regarding the front guard, not an issue I've had

[gary_in_nz]

Ok cheers for the window tip. Who does the best lift kits for these beasts? Was planning. To fit up to 35's so 4inch lift should do the trick? With a 4 inch lift do you need extended arms and things?

[wjw]

Ok cheers for the window tip. Who does the best lift kits for these beasts? Was planning. To fit up to 35's so 4inch lift should do the trick? With a 4 inch lift do you need extended arms and things?

I bought a 2nd hand 6" kit, 3" inch springs, 3" spring spacers, (Chamberlins) As its my daily driver I sold on the spacers and went for a 3" spring lift. I have 35's under it and it's all good. It was certed with no castor correction, but I hated driving it at speed (anything over 50km) so I ended up using castor correction plates (from Ironman) designed for 4" lift as personally I dont like correction bushes.

If it was primarily for offroading I would have gone higher.

[gary_in_nz]

Thanks for the reply, It will be a daily really so will have a think about that setup, cheers!!

[gary_in_nz]

Hi there, picked up an 80 and seems to be going well. 12 valve motor, auto.
I have to do a couple rust repairs to the front of the front inner guards. Do these come out or are they part of the body?

The repairs can be done in place but would be nice if it was on a bench.

Apart from that, have to deal to a couple oil leaks, power steer pump, trans case and axle seals and it will be drip free.

[Lchundy]

The inner guards look like they unbolt but I've never tried taken one off